Botanic Endeavour: RBG Sydney Florilegium Society celebrates the Banks and Solander Collections3/5/2022  Back in 2020, one of the significant botanical exhibitions of the year was that of "Botanic Endeavour" - in Sydney. This was the second exhibition - in association with the publication of a new book (see below) - by the Florilegium Society of the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney (RBGS). This, of course was the year, when public spaces were being locked down and then reopening and then locking down again. At the same time that people were being careful about where they travelled and how and which public spaces they visited. It really wasn't a great year for art exhibitions. My recollection is that the planned exhibition was cancelled. Then in November 2020, a webinar was held to talk about the second project, the book and the paintings It's really pleasing therefore to hear that there's going to be another chance to see Botanic Endeavour: The Florilegium Society celebrates the Banks and Solander Collections. This announcement feels like it provides another opportunity for all those who were playing it safe, not travelling and not going to exhibitions in 2020 - or 2021. The Society will present an exhibition of 50 recent botanical paintings linking the historic Banks’ and Solander specimens held in the National Herbarium of NSW with the Living Collection of the three Gardens. This project was created to mark the 250th anniversary of Captain Cook’s voyage in the Endeavour in 2020. Curated by Colleen Morris, the focus is on these historic specimens; drawing attention to the time and place of their collection, their history and inviting reflection on their significance to science, to the Indigenous peoples, to those collecting them and to the Gardens now. Some of the newly digitised Banks’ and Solander collection images will be displayed along with more treasures from the Daniel Solander Library including some of the Banks’ Florilegium plates and his specimen cabinet. Details of the exhibition are below:
The majority of the Banks and Solander specimens represented in the new works were collected at Botany Bay and the remainder from several locations in Queensland. Fresh plant material was sourced in many ways; with the co-operation of the botanic gardens in Cambridge, Oxford and Kew in the UK and a specialist nursery in California as well as from the three Gardens of the Trust in Australia. One artist sourced seeds from Western Australia and grew them in Cambridge; another painted from plants on the Amahlongwana River in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. In Australia, some material was obtained from specialist nurseries and grown on at home; naturally, many grow in Sydney and the areas of collection in Queensland. Botanic Endeavour - the book
Those visiting the exhibition will have a chance to buy the Botanic Endeavour book. Those living further afield, who would like a copy can find out more about it - and the first book - on my page about the Florilegium Societies.
Just scroll down until you get to Australasia and The Florilegium Society at The Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust.
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The latest exhibition of the Oxford Botanic Garden & Arboretum Florilegium opens tomorrow (Monday 22nd November) at The Barn Gallery at St. John's College, St Giles, OX1 3JP.
Participating artists
The Oxford Florilegium group consists of fourteen enthusiastic painters who have worked for a decade to produce botanical illustrations that document the living collections of the Botanic Garden and Arboretum, Oxford.
Most of the artwork and exhibits are watercolour paintings but also include botanical illustrations using coloured pencils, graphite and pen & ink.
The fourteen artists are:
You can see more of their artwork on their Instagram account https://www.instagram.com/obg_florilegium/ The aim of botanical illustration is to produce not only a picture that is pleasing to the eye but one which is botanically accurate, comprehensive and recognisable to species level. Such works broach the gap between art and science.
The illustrations in the Exhibition focus on themes including:
Prof. Simon Hiscock, Prof. Stephen Harris and Dr Chris Thorogood judge the annual submissions, assessing them for botanical accuracy, execution and composition. ​See also my earlier post Oxford Florilegium Exhibition marks 400th anniversary of the UK's oldest botanic garden (29th October 2021)  This is about an upcoming exhibition of the Oxford Florilegium which opens next month. 2021 is the 400th anniversary of Oxford Botanic Garden, the oldest botanic garden in the UK, founded on July 25th 1621. Established as the Oxford Physic Garden for growing medicinal plants used to teach medical students, the Garden was the birthplace of botanical sciences at Oxford. It became known as the Oxford Botanic Garden in the 1830s to reflect its role in experimental botany. As part of the Oxford Botanic Garden’s 400 year anniversary celebrations, the University of Oxford Botanic Garden and the Department of Plant Sciences are holding an Oxford Florilegium Exhibition.
To date, almost 80 illustrations by members of the Oxford Botanic Garden and Harcourt Arboretum Florilegium Group have been accepted into the Herbarium archive. Following the judging for this year's exhibition more will be added to the growing collection. Note 1: The image chosen for image above is Pinus nigra, black pine © Rosemary Wise. The tree is one of the oldest in the Oxford Botanic Garden and was planted in the Garden in the 1830s and much loved by JRR Tolkien. The original tree, often referred to as ‘Tolkien’s Pine’, shed two huge branches in 2014 and had to be felled. To mark the 400th anniversary, His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales planted a special tree, propagated from a seed of the black pine (Pinus nigra) on his visit to mark the anniversary on 7th June 2021.  Exhibition Judges The work will be judged for its botanical accuracy, execution and composition by
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